


may these words

by braigwen_s



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Meta, Swearing, but not enough to rate a tag and disappoint people, honestly more my playing around with an idea than an actual story, i guess?, irohs i and ii are also mentioned, punctuation is acceptable but nothing is capitalised
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-13
Updated: 2018-11-13
Packaged: 2019-08-22 23:34:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16607528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/braigwen_s/pseuds/braigwen_s
Summary: " toph says she finds the rumors that very rapidly emerge about her friends hilarious, and zuko gives the least shits about his public reputation (‘my honor!’ wails sokka, reading the latest tabloid, and aang punches him in the arm because toph isn’t there to do it) and is also canny enough to realise that she finds royal scandal a lot less depressing than the truthso he stokes the rumors about himself, dropping ‘accidental’ hints here and there, and mai, while understanding, mainly finds it hysterical. "





	may these words

i honestly feel like lin’s father was genuinely some random ass who undeservedly managed to take home The Toph Beifong for a night, and by the time toph realised her monthly was late he was already dead, or in another kingdom, or wherever accidental baby daddies go to vanish

but toph says she finds the rumors that very rapidly emerge about her friends hilarious, and zuko gives the least shits about his public reputation (‘my honor!’ wails sokka, reading the latest tabloid, and aang punches him in the arm because toph isn’t there to do it) and is also canny enough to realise that she finds royal scandal a lot less depressing than the truth

so he stokes the rumors about himself, dropping ‘accidental’ hints here and there, and mai, while understanding, mainly finds it hysterical

whenever zuko’s asked about the rumors in a press conference or meeting or whatnot he's always just "none of your business" or "inappropriate" or "off-topic"

and this goes on for a few years, zuko very safely securing the title of ‘favorite uncle’ with zoo visits and ice-creams and pranks and playdates with izumi

and while knows that his affection is genuine, when lin gets older she realises he’s feeding the press to make her and toph feel better

but she doesn't give two shits because that exactly the kind of thing that makes him a father to her, biology irrelevant, like with him and iroh i

and eventually she joins in on it, as well -   
and half is to watch the press burn and half is to genuinely reassure herself of 'i have a family, i have a parent who loves me and has time for me, and i have a sister who doesn't hang out with gangsters’

and after the Suyin Incident

when it's too fresh and painful to refer to things by name, among people who have no fear of pain or death, the scars are "family resemblance" (and, yes, "on the wrong side," thank you bumi) and so forth

upon zuko’s death, he his legacy and kingdom and royal artifacts to izumi and everything else to lin, honestly mostly for the chaos he knows he'll be able to cause from beyond death

and at the funeral lin gives what everyone thinks is going to be a dry speech about peace and achievement, but a couple of minutes in she starts regaling the sweetest anecdote from when she was like seven

and everybody record-scratches but she's just as heartfelt as izumi and ends up working the crowd almost as well, too (which is pretty good for somebody with the social skills of a goat gorilla)

and somebody compliments it in an aside, afterwards, and calls it 'surprising' and 'unexpected', and izumi turns around and says, very coldy, that she doesn't appreciate people speaking ill of her closest family, especially not in an event to honor the life of a member of it

and everyone goes apeshit as quietly as they can

iroh ii ups the ante in the after-feast by proposing a toast to his "cou - uh, comrade," mako

( "he's not even in the united forces!" points out somebody in a whisper, "how is he a 'comrade'?"

" 'companion,' " someone snickers back, "like with the lady mai and ty lee", but then izumi's gaze pierces them and they fall silent, terrified )

by the time she dies it’s more or less the accepted story, albeit one not spoken in genteel or proper circles, and it’s honestly exactly what both zuko and lin would have wanted

well, aside from everybody shutting the agni up, and regarding her on her own merits instead of focusing on her parents.


End file.
